


Mundane

by Supernova7



Category: Shadowhunters (TV), The Mortal Instruments Series - Cassandra Clare
Genre: F/F, F/M, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-04-15
Updated: 2017-04-18
Packaged: 2018-10-19 06:49:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,098
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10634511
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Supernova7/pseuds/Supernova7
Summary: Take away the Shadow world and what's left behind? Nothing but boring old mundanes, living a boring mundane life. No fighting demons, no life or death at every turn, just real people trying to find themselves in a world that wants to screw them at every turn.Will focus on malec with other ships dotted throughout.





	1. I need a lawyer, I need you.

RING RING. 

The room was dark, and peaceful. The only light came from the small digital clock on the bed side table. It blinked out an unnatural green hue across the wooden flooring, across the white sheets of the bed, and onto the face of the man lying there. Magnus Bane groaned as he rolled over. The window was open making the curtains shimmer in the night wind, and he pulled the duvet around himself a little closer. The only noise was the usual New York traffic that hummed along on the road below, and was a comforting sound. Reminding him of where he was, that he was safe in his apartment in New York, nothing could touch him here. This was his kingdom. He’d only managed to fall asleep an hour ago. He’d been finding it difficult to get to sleep lately. His brain just seemed to be moving at a hundred miles an hour these days, and every time he closed his eyes he thought about his past. The things he’d done. The people he’d loved. The feel of the cold London air against his cheek. The sound of the Thames as it rushed underneath his feet. So close. Too close. 

RING RING.

The loud, high pitched beeping that had woken him went off again and Magnus ran a hand across his face, sighing as he sat up. With his eyes still closed he reached out blindly for the phone which screamed out against the tranquil darkness of his room. He opened his eyes and looked down at the screen, but the number wasn’t recognised.  
“Hello?”  
“Is…is this Mr. Bane?” A woman’s voice on the other end of the line asked, her voice tight and clipped - panicked.  
“Speaking.” Magnus said sleepily as he shuffled up the bed and reached over to grab an extra pillow to put behind his back.  
“I’m sorry to call at such an early hour-“  
“Not that sorry or you wouldn’t have called.” Magnus turned the bed side lamp on and squinted against the sudden light that his sleep addled eyes where not ready for.  
“I didn’t know what else to do, I couldn’t wait until the morning,” The woman swallowed “I hear you’re one of the best lawyers in New York.”  
“It depends who you ask, but most people wait until office hours until they call up lawyers in the middle of the night. People are more likely to help you when you haven’t disturbed their sleep.”  
“I’m sorry I couldn’t wait this is, it’s important.”  
“How long ago where you arrested? Which station do I need to- “  
“No, no it’s not for anything like that I…I’m outside your apartment block, Ragnor Fell sent me.” Magnus sighed and slid himself out of the bed. He trusted Ragnor and Ragnor would not have sent someone to his apartment at two in the morning for no good reason. She must be in trouble if Ragnor was unable to help himself, and Magnus had the unfortunate hamartia of being unable to turn away someone in trouble.  
“I’ll call down and tell the doorman to let you up. Floor 30, Penthouse one.”  
“Thank you.” The phone line went dead. Magnus headed out of the bedroom and into the open planned living space that served as living area, dining room, and kitchen. He yawned as he flipped the coffee machine on and pressed the speed dial on his phone for the downstairs reception.  
“Hey Carl I have a guest arriving, make sure to let her up…yes I’m aware of what time it is, just let her up, thanks.” He ended the call. The guard probably thought he was running some sort of prostitution ring allowing people up to his apartment at such early hours, but Magnus was too tired to be bothered by what other people thought. And not just this evening. He had given up a long time ago trying to explain himself to people whom he owed no explanation.  
This wasn’t the first-time Magnus had been called up in the middle of the night with people desperately asking for his help, but normally it was because they needed him to go down to a police station, or they needed urgent legal advice. Never had somebody showed up on his doorstep before.  
The coffee machine finished emptying into the mug and Magnus took a long sip leaning back into the counter. He was supposed to be in court at 9 tomorrow, which meant he would have to be up in 4 hours. His fingers wrapped around the mug, craving the warmth it provided. Autumn was leaving now and winter was fast approaching. He would have to remember to re-time the heating so the apartment wasn’t so arctic overnight. He felt Chairman meow rub himself against Magnus’ leg, probably perturbed by his owner’s intrusion to the kitchen so early in the morning, and hoping he could squeeze in an extra feed. Magnus leaned down and picked the cat up in one arm, holding his coffee in the other hand.  
“Why do I do this to myself Chairman? I need to ruin my reputation somehow and then maybe these reprobates will go somewhere else in their hour of need, instead of ruining my beauty sleep. I’m not as young as I once was, and youth fades so quickly.” He lamented to the cat, who hardly seemed interested and instead rubbed a fury cheek against Magnus’. He liked to think that was the Chairman’s way of saying that Magnus would always be beautiful no matter how much sleep he got, but the more realistic view was that Chairman was wondering if Magnus had forgotten that the food was kept in the left-hand side cupboard and by rubbing himself against him, he might remind him of this fact.  
The door-bell rang and Magnus sighed placing the cat back down on the floor and heading to the door. 

The woman standing on the other side was rather slight and wearing nothing except a dark grey cardigan over her clothes. Not something that seemed appropriate for running around the streets of New York, in the early hours of the morning, in late November. She was as white as paper which made her bright red hair stand out like blood on snow. Over her shoulder was a large black hand bag and Magnus could see a green folder corner poking out of the top.  
“Thank you, thank you for letting me up, I’m sorry about the time but I couldn’t have slept without knowing…without speaking to somebody, everyone else has turned me away-” Magnus gestured for her to come in and carefully closed the door behind her. “I need your help, Mr. Bane.” She said turning to face him.  
“Mmm, it would appear so. Would you like some coffee? Or I have a fully stocked bar if you’re in the mood for it.”  
“I…I’m fine, thank you.” Magnus sat down on one of the couches, and the woman carefully sat down opposite him on one of the foot stools. She tucked some stray hair behind her ear and looked up at him. There were tears in her hazel eyes and she wrung her hands in her lap as she tried to find the courage to tell him why she was here. Tell him what had brought her to the apartment of a lawyer she didn’t know at 2 in the morning with no fore thought or planning.  
“I’ve heard you’re the best lawyer in New York.” She finally came up with. Magnus nodded and drained his coffee cup, placing it down on the side.  
“So you’ve said.”  
“I also heard you work pro-bono for certain cases.”  
“I don’t believe that justice and mercy are privileges for the privileged. But before I agree to do anything you’re going to have to tell me what it is I’ll be doing…and who I’ll be representing.” The woman swallowed and nodded, chewing her bottom lip as she reached into her bag and pulled out the folder Magnus had seen earlier.  
“My name is Jocelyn Fray and you’d be representing me, against my husband.”  
“Perhaps we have different ideas of an emergency Miss. Fray but I don’t call deciding who gets the couch and who gets the vase that was a wedding gift from your great aunt, urgent.”  
“Have you heard of Valentine Morgenstern, Mr. Bane?” Magnus felt his posture stiffen. Chairman jumped onto the couch and crawled into his lap, starting to purr dig his nails into Magnus’ skin before curling up there. Magnus ran a hand through the cat’s fur, taking comfort in his soft fluff.  
“Yes, I’ve had the misfortune of hearing not only his name but his vile, racist, sexist, homophobic version of politics. How does he concern you, Miss. Fray?”  
“He’s...he's legally my husband. We've been seperated now for 16 years,” Jocelyn swallowed and pulled some sheets of paper out of the folder and handed them to Magnus who began to scan his eyes over them. “But I got an e-mail this evening saying that he wants to meet our children and…Magnus I can’t let him.” Magnus glanced up at Jocelyn, at the fear in her eyes. He didn’t need to ask why she’d left him. Didn’t need to question why she was so scared, or why she was so adamant her children wouldn’t see their father. It was all in the fear of her eyes. Magnus had helped a lot of women like Jocelyn get away from their abusers, but rarely was it 16 years later.  
“Your children must be over 16, they’re old enough to make their own decisions in the eyes of the law Miss. Fray, and if Valentine wants to make himself known to them then I don’t see that we have much to talk about.” Jocelyn closed her eyes in frustration and took a deep breath in before looking back up at Magnus, her eyes focused and intent.  
“I had just given birth to our daughter and he just kept getting angrier and angrier, it was only a matter of time before he hurt one of them. And…things just kept getting worse and worse. When he decided to run for the republican party…I knew once the race started I couldn’t get out. So, I ran. Came to New York, changed my name, changed the kid’s names. I never told them who their father was. Now he’s found us and I can’t let him ruin their lives the way he ruined mine.”  
“That…is a lot of information to digest Jocelyn,” Magnus ran a hand through his hair and flicked through the papers she had handed him before looking back up at her. “You know that you’re not protecting your children, you’re only deceiving them by keeping them away. Eventually they’re going to find out who their father is, and they’re probably going to want to meet him, talk to him, and it’s you who is going to look like the baddie. On top of that you expect me to help you, unpaid, when you were married to a man…are still married to a man who said bisexual men like me shouldn’t be able to get married. Who said immigrants like me should catch a boat back to the backwards, swamps we came from? You must have believed in those things too or you wouldn’t have married him.” Jocelyn frowned and went oddly still, staring at him for a few moments, perhaps in disbelief that he had been so bold.  
“I didn’t come here to be judged for my past.”  
“I’m not judging you, Jocelyn, but I am asking why you think I should help you, spend time and effort on your case and potentially not get a penny for my hard work.”  
“I’m not the person I was back then, I thought terrible, awful things, and I’ve paid the price. Don’t let him poison my children the way he poisoned me, please don’t make them pay for my mistakes. Help me keep our identities safe. I called Ragnor Fell who helped me when I first got to New York, but he gave me your number and said you were not only one of the best lawyers he’d known, but also one of the kindest. That you wouldn’t leave somebody with nowhere else to go.” Magnus looked away and twirled his fingers through Chairman’s fur. He was stuck in an impossible situation. He was sure Jocelyn barely had a leg to stand on in terms of the law. But the fear in her eyes was something so real it couldn’t be ignored.  
“Okay, I’ll help you.”


	2. Pan-demon-ium

It was Friday night and the club was filled to the brim with sweaty, drunk people dancing away their problems. Who cared about what awaited you in the morning when for a few hours you could do what you want, say what you want, have sex with who you want, and the alcohol will make you blissfully unaware of the consequences. The music playing was some basterdised club version of whatever was in the top 40 this week. No lyrics just drum beats and techno computer sounds that made it easier to dance to, supposedly. It was probably okay if you were drunk, but Alec was as far from drunk as you could get. He was painfully aware of the stickiness of the floor as he walked across it, and the heat that was radiating off the over-crowded dance floor that didn’t seem to bother anybody else. Alec had stayed away from the bottle of whisky Isabelle and Jace had snuck from their parent’s liquor cabinet, he should remain sober to take care of them and make sure they got home okay.   
The fake I.Ds had come from somebody Jace knew at college and he’d somehow persuaded Alec that it would be a good idea. When Izzy had heard about it she had refused to be left out.   
She would be leaving New York for the University of Boston in a couple of months’ time and didn’t want to miss out on time to spend with her brothers. Alec couldn’t help but feel a pang of hurt when Izzy had said she was going out of state, both he and Jace had stayed in New York, Alec had been the one who’d decided to stay and Jace wouldn’t go anywhere without him. Boston wasn’t so far though; Alec had told himself over and over again. She would always be only a phone call away.   
“What you thinkin bout?” Jace asked placing an arm on Alec’s shoulder and bobbing up and down to the beat of whatever the music was supposed to be. Alec shrugged and Jace smiled, gently patting his cheek. “We’ll be fine wiv out iz. Gotchother ssll matters,” Alec glanced around to the front of the dance floor where two podiums stood above the dance floor, surrounded by a metal barrier that you could climb up to dance on. Isabelle was up on one of these. Her thick black hair, which had been tied up when they first arrived, was now falling in waves down her back. Her hips where moving in time to the music with a fluidity Alec could only dream of. Izzy was laughing and smiling, and had her arms wrapped around a man. He was only just taller than her, with electric blue hair and cheek bones that gave his face a sharp handsomeness.   
“Wow.” Jace sighed and Alec followed his line of vision to a girl and guy stood just in front of the pedestal. They were laughing and doing a robot dance in time with the heavy beats of the music.   
“I don’t get it-“ When Alec turned back to Jace he was already gone, pushing his way through to get to her. Alec sighed and began to follow through the path Jace was cutting into the crowd, his eyes set determinedly on the blond in front. He was not going to lose Jace in here or he was sure he would never find him again. 

“Happy Birthday,” The girl turned from her friend to face Jace, her eyes widening in surprise.   
“How…how did you know?” She blinked, a small smile on her lips.   
“The badge.” Jace grinned and nodded down to the big pink badge she was wearing that said ‘Birthday Girl’. “It was a bit of a give away, lemme guess this is your 21st?” Jace quiered. The girl nodded and hummed.   
“Yep, 21. That’s me. It would be illegal for me to be here otherwise.”   
“My name’s Jace, and this is Alec, my brother. What’s your name?” Jace, Alec noted, seemed to have sobered up, or was at least trying to control his inebriation.   
“Clary, a-and this is my friend Simon.” Jace glanced over at Simon, his eyes narrowing a little, trying to read what was going on. He seemed to decide that Simon wasn’t competition because he reached out to tuck some hair behind Clary’s ear.   
“You like my jeans?”   
“Your…your jeans?”   
“Yeah they were 50% off.” She blinked down at them in surprise before looking back up at Jace.   
“They’re…they’re very nice.”   
“I can take them 100% off if you come dance with me.” Clary giggled, covering her mouth with her hand. Her friend Simon clenched his jaw but didn’t say anything, even when Jace looked over at him and winked, taking Clary’s hand.   
“Has that line ever worked? Like even once?” Alec decided he didn’t need to hear any more and looked back up to Izzy, frowning when he saw the blue haired man was grabbing her butt and seemed to be pulling up her skirt at the corner. Izzy shoved him back and made her way off the podium, stumbling with alcohol and the gigantic heels she had on. Alec skirted around Jace, Clary, and Simon, and made his way towards her.   
“C’mon beautiful what’s yourhurry? Ssjust getting fun.” Izzy stopped and turned around to face him but Alec placed a hand on her shoulder and pulled her gently back.  
“You feel like making it out this club alive you’ll leave me ‘lone.”  
“Wha? youwas upto itfore!”   
“Well the fun’s over, I want to dance with my friends now.” Izzy said crossing her arms over her chest and frowning at him, though her furiosity was a little lost in the way she lilted drunkenly to one side.   
“Get lost, can’t you tell she’s done with you?” Alec felt Jace join him at his side but it was Clary who had spoken. She stepped out from behind Jace with a face red in anger and her fists balled up at her sides.   
“C’mon pretty thing, jusscmhome wiv me.” He pushed Clary back and she stumbled a little. Simon and Jace went to catch her, but it was Izzy, who pushed away from Alec and gently grabbed Clary’s arm in time. Clary righted herself and then Izzy turned to the blue haired man, her brown eyes alight with fire. He reached out to grab her arm and Izzy kicked him in the groin with her knee. Hard. He crumbled to the floor crying out and the crowd parted. One of the security guards who had been stood by the D.J began to make his way towards them. Izzy swallowed and turned to Alec.   
“Let’s go.” Alec nodded and they quickly pushed their way through the crowd. Alec didn’t know if the security guard was following them but before they knew it they were almost at the door-  
“Wait!” Alec turned around to see Clary had stopped. He had no idea she was still with them. Even her friend Simon had run with them, and was standing beside her as she started to look through her bag. “I left my coat in the cloakroom, I can’t find my ticket.”   
“Why is she coming with us?” Alec asked, turning to Jace. “We have to go!” Jace placed a hand on Clary’s arm.   
“We can come get it in the morning-”   
“Jace!” Alec nodded to where the security guard was practically throwing people to the side to get to them.   
“I got it!” Simon grinned and pulled the pink ticket out of his pocket. “I’ll get your jacket; I don’t think he saw me with you guys. Get outside and wait for me there.” Before Alec could argue with him Izzy was pulling him out the doors and into the fresh, cold, night air. 

Izzy straightened out her skirt and pulled a small brush from her bag to run through her hair.   
“Well looks like we can never go back there,” Jace sighed and ran a hand through his hair “Had a good vibe too. Even Alec was starting to enjoy it weren’t you buddy?” Alec huffed and rolled his eyes glancing at his phone. 02:00. He went into his contacts and started to call them a car. He just wanted to get home and go to bed.  
“Isabelle this is Clary, Clary this is our sister Isabelle.” Jace introduced. Izzy tucked the brush back into her bag and smiled.   
“Thanks for helping, Clary.”   
“It was nothing, just standing up to some jerk-Simon!”   
“Yeah I thought he was a jerk too.” Jace said as Clary ran forwards to her friend who had just stumbled out of the club, clutching a green hoodie in one hand. They collided just outside the doorway as he pulled her into a hug.   
Jace passed his own leather jacket over to Izzy who had begun to shiver in the cold November air. She hastily wrapped it around herself, as Jace chuckled threw an arm around Alec.   
“Thank you for stopping me doing something stupid.”   
“Think we were a bit late for that.” Jace ducked out the way as Izzy tried to elbow him with a sly grin on her lips.   
“Whatever, I didn’t flip him onto the floor like I should have…so what’s the plan now?” Izzy asked hugging the jacket closer to herself as Clary and Simon made their way over.   
“Well we don’t live that far away so we’ll probably just get a cab or something.” Simon shrugged, one arm was draped over Clary’s shoulders. Jace glanced at the arm and grinned.   
“Why don’t you come back with us?” Alec pulled the phone away from his ear and hissed.   
“Jace!”   
“What we got them kicked out we should repay them, we have more booze and loads of food at ours, and spare beds for you to crash in, if you want, or not spare beds.” He wiggled his eyebrows and Clary rolled her eyes as Simon tensed beside her.   
“I don’t think that’s a good idea, you could be serial killers for all we know.”   
“C’mon Si, it could be fun, and we were literally just talking about how we don’t take enough risks.”   
“I meant maybe buying that top that didn’t go with my eyes, not…not…”  
“Not what?” Jace crossed his arms, his eyes glistening with a silent dare. Simon glanced at Clary who clutched one of his hands in both of hers as Alec tucked his phone into his pocket. The car was on the way. Clary looked at him with a hopeful smile that seemed to melt Simon where he stood. He smiled back at her and sighed.   
“Fine we’ll go back with them, but I’m keeping my phone on tracker the entire time, and at the slightest sign they’re about to murder us I’m calling Luke.”  
“Do we look like murderers?” Izzy asked stepping forward and Simon’s jaw hit the floor like a cartoon’s. Alec sighed at the predictableness of this nerd’s behaviour. Men really where such fickle creatures.   
“No god no of course not, I’m Lewis, Simon Lewis, sorry two first names gets confusing.” Izzy giggled and battered her eyelashes and Alec and Jace exchanged a look. She was going to crush him.   
“I’m Isabelle.” She extended her arm out and he took it pecking her hand.  
A long, black car pulled up to them and the driver rolled the window down.   
“Lightwood?”   
“Yeah thanks,” Alec said pulling the car door open and sitting down. The others followed him in; Clary and Simon were glancing around as if they had never seen a car before.   
“Do you have a chauffeur?” Clary asked incredulously.   
“Don’t be stupid,” Alec huffed doing his seat belt up and looking out of the window “This is just a private car rental. 300 East 77th street please.”


End file.
